It is known in the prior art that an oral appliance which opens the jaws and advances the mandible can help reduce incidences of snoring, sleep apnea, and other breathing problems associated with sleep. While the prior art is replete with such devices, many are uncomfortable due to their rigid construction, which often leads to joint pain in the jaws. Some of the devices represented in the prior art are adjustable to move the jaw forward or back, or adjust the spacing between the jaws, but are still generally rigid devices. Further, these devices are not fully customizable by the user and require professional adjustment to fit the appliance to the user's needs. Additionally, such adjustments typically only modify the appliance to a new fixed position and do not allow for necessary lateral and vertical movement of the jaws to prevent joint pain.
As is acknowledged by the prior art, there is no existing appliance that is totally adjustable, both in the amount of forward movement and vertical opening. For most appliances, adjustments are made by either soldering on spacers or grinding away plastic from the appliance. Once such modifications are made, they are often permanent until further modifications are performed by a dentist or other health care professional. Fitting such an appliance typically requires numerous trips to the dentist at ever increasing costs. Other more adjustable appliance simply advance and space the lower jaw through set incremental steps. Such devices rigidly interlock the maxillary and mandibular portions of the appliance together, preventing any vertical or lateral movement of the jaw, which can be unnecessarily painful to most users. Additionally, many of these devices do not provide an opening at the front of the mouth through which the tongue may extend to prevent airway constriction that causes many of the sleep breathing disorders.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dental appliance which opens the jaws and advances the mandible to prevent and alleviate sleep disorders.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dental appliance in which the vertical spacing of the jaws and advancement of the mandible is fully customizable by the user.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dental appliance in which the maxillary and mandibular portions are not rigidly connected and allows for limited vertical and lateral movement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dental appliance that produces an unobstructed opening at the front of the mouth through which the tongue is free to extend to prevent the tongue from moving posteriorly.